Upload
dan-russell
View
100
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Growing your business is as much a science as it is an art. Find out what parts of your business can be organized better for growth - right here in this deck! See more at http://lifeinsixth.com
Citation preview
Growing your business is as much a science as it is an art.
Business Growth Engineering
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Growth comes in stages.
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Growth comes in stages.
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Growth comes in stages.
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Growth comes in stages.
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Growth comes in stages.
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
Here’s the thing about moving from one stage to
the next…
It can get crazy.
Idea Ideas!
Idea
Idea
Idea
but where do we go from the last step?
You’ve already started a business.
That’s why you’re here now
you’re watching this video
you want to grow.
I’m going to show you how.
We’re going to talk about growth in 2 parts:
Part IGrowing from an idea
Part IIScaling your business
Growing from an idea
Part I
Idea → Action → Validation → Business
at the most basic level, you’re repeating the same steps that you
did when you started your company
with one big revision…
it’s no longer a linear process.
but do you notice a problem with this cycle?
You’ve already started a business. You’re working on building out how your value can be delivered.
This requires a more involved process to ensure:● Customer needs are still met
● The growth is always being optimized
● Despite any failure, you can build on what you’ve already created.
how can we adapt this to our needs?
We use the Build - Measure - Learn
framework
and the cycle now looks like this:
much better.let’s take a look.
The Business Growth Cycle1. When you have an idea, you
take at least one action.2. That action needs to be
validated.3. Once validated, the action
must be implemented across the organization.
4. Once implemented, the new offering needs to be measured and optimized to ensure ROI and product-market fit.
this is what we’re going to look at more closely.
if you want to engineer growth, you need to
engineer this process to fit your business and lifestyle.
THEN populate it.
the idea
Step 1
If you’re an entrepreneur, ideas are a dime a dozen
You need to qualify ideas intellectually and then get excited about them.Most people do the opposite, and in some cases forget to qualify them altogether. These are usually the ideas that either flop or have the founder lose interest quickly.
How do you qualify an idea?
You need to answer 3 questions:1. How does this idea further my overall vision?2. When will this idea start to financially support
me instead of me supporting it?3. How will this idea increase my knowledge and
exploration of my areas of interest?
Ex: Mastermind Group
You need to answer 3 questions:1. Gives me the relationships I need to enact
change2. Cash flow positive in 6 months3. Gives me experience networking
Ex: Mastermind Group
You need to answer 4 questions:1. Gives me the relationships I need to enact
change2. I’m not going to make money on it3. Gives me experience networking
not making the cut on these 3 questions doesn’t mean it’s a
bad idea.
it means it’s not as good as it can be.
Notice that none of these questions ask about the
company.
Your business provides a launching pad.
A good idea stands on its own.
The Action
Step 2
Once you have your idea, you need to ACT!
but not blindly.
there’s a way to track down the highest leverage
action you can take for an idea.
I’m going to show in just a second.
but before I do, here’s my forewarning.
you can’t rationally decide that an idea is BAD in this
stage. Thus, you can’t rationally STOP pursuing it
while taking action.
it’s okay to jump ship in the idea or validation stages, but in the ACTION stage
you’re simply putting the pieces into place.
you’ve already qualified the idea, now it’s time to
execute.
begin with an idea statement.
Idea Statement: A 2-sentence description of what your idea is and what it will take to begin seeing it to fruition.
here’s your Idea Statement template...
My idea is to change _____1______ by building _____2____. To achieve this, I need to first learn _____3______ and then find someone to _____4______.
Pretty simple, right?
But it’s powerful.
My idea is to change _____1______ by building _____2____. To achieve this, I need to first learn _____3______ and then find someone to _____4______.
1. What are you going to change?2. What will you build to change it?3. What do you need to learn to build it?4. Who do you need to work with to build it?
Each of these questions is an action step for you to take.
1. What are you going to change? Research2. What will you build to change it? Competition3. What do you need to learn to build it? Technical4. Who do you need to work with to build it?
Partners
This is how they translate into actions:
Take each action sequentially.
Move from 1-4.
When you feel that you’ve taken sufficient action to be informed enough to validate your idea, you can move on.
Validation
Step 3
Creating a pilot
To test your idea, you need to roll out a pilot to one of two groups.1.Your most loyal clients2.Your target market
Use your clients if the product can apply to them.
Otherwise find the target audience and build a
relationship with them for the pilot.
What to do...
1. Explain what you’re trying to achieve and how they can benefit.
2. Give it to them for free under the agreement that they give you honest feedback
3. Provide the new service as you would a paying customer
4. Provide opportunity for client feedback at EVERY step
Survey MonkeyPhone Calls
EmailsGoogle Forms
How to measure feedback
Just collect the data!!
Once the pilot is over, review the data.
1. Assemble positive comments and negative comments
2. Review what was best and worst about the pilot3. Send them a final NPS (Net Promoter Score)
survey
(seen this before?)
“On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend
this to a friend?”
You won’t have much volume so the data won’t be
significant, but it will give you an idea of who in the
pilot would pay money for it.
8-10 1-7
“On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend
this to a friend?”
Implement! Fix/Scrap It
Take the average...
which leads us to…
Implementation
Step 4
Beta → Beta 2.0 → Full LaunchBeta → Full Launch
Full Launch
You have options now.
It depends on the technical requirements of scaling up
the new product/service
It also depends on if you need to build a new audience or if you’re
appealing to your existing one.
If you’ve done everything right up until this point…
Marketing is ready from the pilot
You know your margins
You have a track record & testimonials
Now it’s just a question of distribution...
So here’s where things get exciting.
Once you implement and distribute your new offering,
you can measure and optimize it going forward.
Optimization
Step 5
First, find the top KPI’s for the initiative you’re running...
Impression Metrics (Volume)● How many people are seeing your product
Engagement Metrics (Conversions)● How many people are expressing interest in your
product
First, find the top KPI’s for the initiative you’re running...
Impression Metrics (Volume)● Traffic, Time on Site, Bounce Rate, Open Rate,
etc.
Engagement Metrics (Conversions)● CTR, Conversion Rate, Upsell Rate, etc.
Second, prioritize them according to your target benchmarksImpression Metric Targets● Traffic: 1,000 hits per day● Time on Site: 2 minutes● Bounce Rate: 50%● Email Open Rate: 40%
Second, prioritize them according to your target benchmarksEngagement Metric Targets● CTR: 15%● Conversion Rate: 25%● Upsell Rate: 40%
As you continue to measure these KPI’s, the ones
furthest from your targets are the highest priority.
Ex: If traffic is way off from your target, increase content marketing efforts and your
advertising budget.
More ideas fuel the evolution of what you’ve already built.
At this point, the process is in a position to repeat.
But what if you don’t have an IDEA but an urge to scale
what you already have?
Reach more people
Have a bigger impact
Make more money
Scaling Your Business
Part II
A business that’s ready to scale can grow simply through more volume.Many businesses, however, are not built to scale.
(Actually, most aren’t.)
Here’s what you need to know in order to create a scalable business.
Hierarchyof a ScalableBusiness
Cash Flow Simplicity
Standardized Procedures
Cultural Buy-in
Farm-ready
Automation
Cash Flow Simplicity
Set up the following:● Automatic invoicing● Outsource accounts receivable
collection (if it’s a problem)● Stable vendor contracts
Standardized Procedures
Set up the following:● Standard operating procedures for
repetitive tasks● Defined responsibilities for each person● Defined workflows for each business
process
● Integrated back-office software
Establish:● A culture focused on growth● Excitement for entering new markets
and making a bigger impact (and more money!)
Cultural Buy-in
Ideas…Weekly brainstorms - Retreats - War roomsMonthly in-office competitions - Bonuses & Incentives
Set up the following:● A network of freelancers and contractors
● Send them your SOP’s using SweetProcess
● Manage projects with Trello or Basecamp
How to find a freelancer...1. Use a reputable site (elance.com, freelancer.com, vworker.com, odesk.com)2. Post a job and make it clear that you’re going to provide ongoing work (they prefer
this)3. Take applications and have them perform a test for their services (be willing to pay
them for this- it’s an investment that will pay off when you’ve found the right person)
Farm-ready
Here’s what you need to do:● Create an automated sales process (upcoming
video)● Route new orders
● Combine all human input into one step
Automation
Automation
Email from prospect
Run QuoteSales Rep Calls
Sales Rep
Emails
Record in CRM
Human processes Computer processes
Prospect fills out form
Notify Sales Rep
Sales Rep Calls
Record In CRM
Human processes
Computer processes
Run Quote
Automation
there’s always a delay with a human process.
automation eliminates that delay
Automation
Farm-ready
Automation
Cultural Buy-in
Farm-ready
Automation
Standardized Procedures
Cultural Buy-in
Farm-ready
Automation
Cash Flow Simplicity
Standardized Procedures
Cultural Buy-in
Farm-ready
Automation
Hierarchyof a ScalableBusiness
Cash Flow Simplicity
Standardized Procedures
Cultural Buy-in
Farm-ready
Automation
once you make your way through the hierarchy, the
next step is to push VOLUME!
like I said before...
A business that’s ready to scale can grow simply through more volume.
so how do you get volume?
well, it depends.
If you have a strong and loyal audience...
Your best bet is to grow through your network.
Utilize the following:
● Social sharing
● Creative referral incentives (Dropbox)
● Competitions
● Partnerships with industry leaders
If you don’t have a strong or loyal audience...
Your best bet is to create a network for yourself and leverage it as it grows.
Utilize the following:
● Strong content marketing
● Competitions
● Forge relationships with industry leaders
● Hustle!
“what about advertising?”
you should be advertising in both of these situations.
the reason I don’t mention it in these lists is because it’s
useless by itself.
advertising without content marketing, competitions, etc. (anything of value)
leads to traffic that’s dead before they reach your
landing page.
you wouldn’t throw a dinner party when your house is
still being renovated.
why would you invite people to your site when your
backend processes aren’t fully developed?
that just wastes ad spend.
in closing…
Part IGrowing from an idea
Part IIScaling your business
Don’t ever lose sight of why you started your business.
They knew when things were out of scope.
They didn’t get distracted.
There’s a reason successful serial entrepreneurs have multiple companies doing
different things.
Don’t grow in a direction that isn’t sustainable for
your company.
Idea Ideas!
Idea
Idea
Idea
You’re the one person who can see where your business
is headed.
if you find these steps to be helpful, then you’re going to
enjoy what I have coming up...
● Collaborate one-on-one and develop a personalized growth strategy for your business
● Automate your entire sales cycle, from lead generation to follow-up
● Architect a client relationship system that scales with your business
● BONUS (10 available): I’ll help you validate your next big idea
I’m opening up 20 spots in an upcoming program to:
most people sit down and think...
“hmm… if only there were a structured way to grow my
business”
“hmm… if only there were a structured way to grow my
business - that I can afford!””
● Collaborate one-on-one and develop a personalized growth strategy for your business
● Automate your entire sales cycle, from lead generation to follow-up
● Architect a client relationship system that scales with your business
● BONUS (10 available): I’ll help you validate your next big idea
All of this...